The Electronic Cigarette Association

Here and there we have made mention of the Electronic Cigarette Association, an idea that erupted over some conversations with other suppliers. One conversation led to a meeting in Chicago of some 15 suppliers which led to the formation of the Electronic Cigarette Association (ECA).

The Electronic Cigarette Association (ECA) is comprised of international manufacturers, suppliers, resellers and consumers who are dedicated to the advancement of electronic smoking technology. The ECA strives to educate the public on electronic smoking devices and tobacco harm reduction. The ECA strongly believes and enforces that any form of smoking is an adult action, and adults who engage in this behavior should have the freedom to choose smoking alternatives.

And don’t think for one second that we don’t have a line up of heavy hitters ready to fight for the cause. For starters, we are thrilled to introduce the President of the ECA, Former Congressman Matt Salmon, AZ. Matt is a non-smoker who has been touched by the heartbreak of smoking related illness and disease and feels that the electronic cigarette is a win-win situation for both smokers and those who love smokers, but choose not to smoke.

Also, we have Current Represenative Clifford Stearns Sr. of Florida, who as we reported in our earlier post The Electronic Cigarette Found on Capitol Hill, is an avid e-cig user. He is one of the most consituent accessible Congressman and offers us his assistance.

David Sweanor, Adjunct Professor Law, University of Ottawa, wrote an amazing essay in 1994 entitled Alternative Nicotine Delivery as a Harm-Reduction Strategy when he was Senior Legal Counsel for the Non-Smokers Right Assocation. If you haven’t read his essay, it is enlightening, practical and a must read for anyone who feels that abstinence only philosophies will not work. This is definitely a road map for any logical argument towards self regulation.

Dr. Joel Nitzkin, Chair of the Tobacco Control Task Force of the American Association of Public Health Physicians, has been a prime speaker since Senator Lautenburg called for the FDA to ban the electronic cigarette. Dr. Nitzkin has stated that “We have every reason to believe the hazard posed by electronic cigarettes would be much lower than 1% of that posed by (tobacco) cigarettes. The testing guidelines in the current tobacco act (circulating through Congress) would represent a ban on electronic cigarettes, (yet) if we get all tobacco smokers to switch from regular cigarettes (to electronic cigarettes), we would eventually reduce the US death toll from more than 400,000 a year to less than 4,000, maybe as low as 400.”

Bill Godshall, Executive Director of SmokeFree Pennsylvania, a division of TobaccoFree.org has also joined us. With a Masters in Public Health, he has been focusing on public health and tobacco harm reduction techniques for over 25 years. He has brought a level of awareness to the electronic cigarette that we could not have dreamed of and appreciate his attentiveness in our cause.

Dr. David Baron, President, Primary Caring of Malibu Medical Group and former Chief of Staff for UCLA Medical Center is also on board to help assist the ECA in moving the knowledge of the electronic cigarette forward.

Wow! So we are pretty thrilled! The ECA has a tough fight but there are some great minds who are not smokers and feel that the electronic cigarette IS the next step in tobacco harm reduction.

If you are interested in more information regarding the electronic cigarette or the Electronic Cigarette Association, please feel free to visit the ECA website www.ECAssoc.org.